MINSK (Sputnik) — Belarus plans to purchase Russia's Sukhoi Su-30SM fighter aircraft after 2020, the country’s military said on Tuesday.
"The time comes when one has to substitute outdated aircraft. As an alternative we consider the Su-30," Commander of the Belarusian Air Force and Air Defense Maj. Gen. Oleg Dvigalev told reporters.
He explained that the new fighter jets would replace the Mikoyan MiG-29 jet fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union, and still in operation by some former Soviet republics.
Dvigalev recalled that during the August International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS 2015 in the Moscow region a Belarusian military pilot tested an Su-30SM jet, and gave "very positive feedback."
The Su-30SM is a two-seat derivative of the earlier Su-27UB (NATO reporting name: Flanker) capable of air-to-air and air-to-ground missions with a wide variety of precision-guided munitions.
